Remote Nursing in Australia and New Zealand is 'terrific'

An international health official visited Alice Springs last week to discuss nursing educaiton opportunities in remote communities. University of Saskatchewan associate dean Lois Berry led a public seminar at the Centre for Remote Health on Wednesday about her lessons learned through delivering nursing education in remote Indigenous communities of Northern Canada. She has spent six weeks travelling across Australia and New Zealand sharing her research and experiences and said it had been "a tremendous learning experience. The reason that I came to Australia and New Zealand is that we all have the same history," she said, referring to colonialism. "I was to look at how each of these countries deals with theat. From my perspective, I had things to share but I had things to learn as well. (The countries) are different but I think the key thing is there are many similaraties as well." Dr Berry pointed out that maintaining control of land, traditions, culture and language was vital in maintaining health and wellbeing. "Language is really important in terms of a sense of culture," she said. Dr Berry said people need to learn about and understand Indigenous cultures to create a more accepting environment. "It's when you don't understand difference that you start thinking negatively about poeple," she said. Dr Berry said she'd like to develop more partnerships with Australia. Reference: Brown, J (2015). Remote Nursing 'terrific'. Published by the Centralian Adovate on 10 April 2015, page 12.